| EARTH
HISTORY COURSE MATRIX |
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SYNOPSIS |
SCIENCE
CONCEPTS |
PROCESSES |
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5. |
Limestone
(4–5 sessions)
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Students
observe limestone and create calcium carbonate by blowing into
limewater. They observe fossils from the Grand Canyon and use
this information to interpret the sequence of environments that
existed in that region in the past. |
•
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of calcium carbonate;
it is formed by physical and biological processes.
• Prehistoric environments can be inferred from evidence
gathered from rocks and fossils. |
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Identify sediments in limestone.
• Investigate how carbon dioxide contributes to the precipitation
of calcium carbonate in water.
• Model the formation of limestone layers in an ancient
environment. |
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6. |
It’s
About Time (5–6 sessions) |
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Students
construct personal time lines to record their own history. They
expand their understanding of time lines to construct geological
time lines and begin to grapple with the large numbers that
represent geographical time. |
•
Geological time extends from Earth’s origin to the beginning
of human history.
• Earth’s history is measured in millions of years. |
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Create a personal time line from birth to the present.
• Construct a time line of geological events and prehistoric
life.
• Apply the concept of time line to Earth history.
• Determine the relative age of rocks, based on association
with other rocks. |
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7. |
Fossils
and Time (2–3 sessions) |
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Students
become familiar with how the fossil record contributes evidence
to the reconstruction of Earth’s past environments. They
use index fossils to put layers of rocks from three locations
on the Colorado Plateau into relative-age sequence. Students
sequence 30 major events in the history of Earth (geological
and biological). |
•
Index fossils can be used as indicators for the age of a sedimentary
rock layer and for correlating rock layers.
• Fossil evidence supports the law of fossil succession:
organisms found as fossils change over geological time. |
•
Use index fossils to correlate rock layers in three locations
on the Colorado Plateau.
• Compare various events and fossils to derive a faunal
succession over geological time.
• Make inferences from fossil evidence that contribute
to an understanding of fossil succession. |
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8. |
One
Rock to Another (4–8 sessions) |
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Students
become familiar with igneous and metamorphic rocks and the processes
that create them. They draw on their experiences with all rock
types to build a concept of the rock cycle driven by constructive
and destructive forces on Earth. They conduct an investigation
into crystal formation in igneous rock, using salol crystals.
They revisit local rocks and conduct projects based on local
geology. |
•
Igneous rocks form from molten rock and can be described as
extrusive or intrusive.
• Metamorphic rocks form when heat and pressure change
existing rocks.
• Igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks can change
from one to another over time. |
•
Observe and compare the properties of sedimentary, igneous,
and metamorphic rocks.
• Relate the formation processes of the three types of
rocks to develop the rock cycle.
• Relate the size of crystals in igneous rocks to environmental
variables. |
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page 6
of 8 |
